If you are like a lot of us who use the SteamDeck as a "DeckTop". You may want to boot directly into desktop mode instead of the default gaming mode and having to power off and on again to get into desktop mode at every boot.

Steps to Boot into Desktop Mode

  1. Turn on your SteamDeck (booting into gaming mode).
  2. Press the Steam button to open the menu.
  3. Navigate to "Power" and select "Switch to Desktop".
  4. Once you are in desktop mode, open the terminal.
  5. In the terminal, type the following command and press Enter:
    6. steamos-session-select plasma-wayland-persistent
This command will set the default session to Plasma Wayland, which is the desktop environment used in desktop mode. After running this command, you can restart your SteamDeck, and it should boot directly into desktop mode. (It should reboot automatically after running the command, but if it doesn't, you can manually restart it.)

Reverting Back to Gaming Mode

  1. Open the terminal in desktop mode.
  2. Type the following command and press Enter:
    3. steamos-session-select gamescope
  3. Restart your SteamDeck, and it should boot back into gaming mode.

Additional Tips

  • Make sure to save any work before switching modes, as the system will restart.
  • Keep in mind that some games may not run properly in desktop mode, so you may want to switch back to gaming mode for optimal gaming performance.

Available Session Options

Command Description
steamos-session-select gamescope Boot into normal gaming mode.
steamos-session-select plasma Temporary KDE desktop mode.
steamos-session-select plasma-wayland Temporary Wayland desktop session.
steamos-session-select plasma-wayland-persistent Always boot into desktop mode using Wayland.
steamos-session-select plasma-x11-persistent Always boot into desktop mode using X11.